Teaching the Use of Intonation in English

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Teaching the Use of Intonation in English

• Kathryn Brillinger
• kbrillinger_at_hotmail.com

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Effective Communication Can NOT Exist Without
Intonation

• English as a Second Language is not EFL and not
  English as an International Language (EIL). ESL
  students are making huge life-impacting decisions
  as they develop their English.
• ESL teachers have huge opportunities in assisting
  effective language development.
• (postage stamp)

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What is Intonation?

• Intonation consists of pitch contours peaking on
  the stressed syllable of the last content word in
  each phrase.
• A pitch contour is related to the height or
  lowness of a tone in comparison to surrounding
  tones.
• Try exaggerating the pitch contour.
• Ex. Really?!

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• Ex. the tooth (1 low rise)
• the tooth of a mammal (2 low rises)
• the tooth of a mammal is related
• (3 low rises)
• The tooth/ of a mammal/is related/ to diet.//
• (3 low rises and 1 jump fall)

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Intonation is Linguistic

• Like vowels and consonants intonation has
  patterns that maintain contrast with each other
  and can be isolated.
• These patterns are crucial to sharing meaning.
• These patterns can and should be taught
  discreetly.
• An utterance in any language can be
  incomprehensible minus intonation.
• Ex. Spanish student
• The Kogis are an example of aboriginal
  Columbian culture and have an important message
  to the world.

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Mild Historical Focus 1 I dont like your tone!

• Intonation is described as related to attitude
  and emotion no emphasis is placed on its
  centrality to comprehensibility.
• Teaching about attitudes and emotions is both
  difficult and considered somewhat tertiary by
  many. Ergo no focus on intonation - yet tone is
  so central that people can accurately guess
  emotion and emotional state without hearing any
  words.
• Ex. Sincerity vs. Sarcasm in Im sorry.
• Ex. Exuberance vs. Depression It doesnt matter
  anyway.

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• Conveying Emotions and Attitudes
• Intonation tells the listener how the speaker
  feels about what he/she is saying
• Ex. 1 Compare
• That was the most disgusting dinner I have ever
  had.
• and The food was absolutely delicious.
• Intonation tells us the speakers attitude
  towards the listener.
• Ex. 2 Compare
• Can I help you?
• to a well-dressed patron at Holt Renfrew and to
  me!

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Mild Historical Focus 2I never even cared if I
was late for work. If I was listening to Peter
Gzowski, I stayed in the car.

• Intonation is describedas simply giving the
  music to speech.
• Music often is regarded in our society as an
  option or luxury.
• Ergo intonation is a fringe item on most ESL
  curriculums and listenability is ignored.
• Ex. Russian speaking Computer Engineer.

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Mild Historical Focus 3Are you happy? Yes, I
am.

• Intonation is described as related to grammar.
• The most obvious connections real yes/no
  questions and rising intonation versus a
  statement with a rise-fall are given a brief,
  generalized and often incorrect treatment.
• Ex. Texts say the intonation rises at the end of
  a yes/no question. Did you finish it? (real
  yes/no)
• Nice day, isnt it? (gambit)

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Additional Focus 1 Social AspectEight Mile was
so dry! M and M really rocked.

• Intonation can be described as related to
  imitation rules in sociology and belonging.
• When teenage girls speak valley girl, young
  women speak up-talk or British immigrants of 40
  years speak without a dab of Canadian influence,
  they are following the same imitation rules that
  make Prince Charles walk like his Dad, people
  mistake sisters for each other on the phone etc.
• Intonation patterns are related to social
  identity.

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Issues With The Social Focus

• Intonation patterns displayed in class are not
  salient enough (see Reading One)
• Intonation observed on TV/movies/music videos
  does not trigger imitation unless it will be
  rapidly rewarded. (Yo homies!)
• The decision to imitate intonation follows a
  decision to sound like someone else. Even if the
  learner has decided to try and sound more
  Canadian, he/she needs an effective, long-term
  initial role model.
• Not picking up intonation may be a strong,
  conscious or sub-conscious decision.

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Benefits Of This Focus

• The issue of belonging is out in the open.
  Students can make informed decisions.
• Many students can develop two repertoires of
  spoken English. One for belonging during job
  interviews, key work functions and customer
  service and one for general use.
• Ex. Korean businessman.
• Thats 550 and a smile.

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Additional Focus 2 Chunking or Phrasing

• Intonation allows the listeners language
  processor to separate the information in an
  utterance into digestible chunks.
• Under the regime/ of the Nazis/ in Warsaw//, a
  Jewish ghetto/ was quickly created/ and the
  orphan house/ was forced/ to move there.//
  (Story of Janusz Korczak)

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• Additional Focus 3 Highlighting
• Intonation highlights for the listener the
  information that needs to be emphasized. If an
  ESL speaker lacks intonation, its very hard to
  process the point of an utterance.
• Ex. Do you know what day this is?
• Oh, no. Its not our anniversary, is it?.

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Word Value Order of Content Words
That was the most absolutely disgusting thing I
have ever seen.

• Intensifiers
• All Negatives
• Adjectives, Numbers, Demonstratives and Adverbs
• Nouns, Main Verbs and Wh-Question Words

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Intonation Practice Sample
Mark the phrases and highlight the content words
in the following passage.
How could she leave/ this little house//? It had
seen her love and joy, her pain and sorrow! Here
she had spent her honeymoon here dear, sweet
baby Joy had lived her one brief day and died
here the sweetness of motherhood had come again
with little Jem here she had heard the exquisite
music of her baby's cooing laughter here beloved
friends had sat by her fireside drinking tea or
wine. Joy and grief, birth and death, had made
sacred forever this little house of dreams. And
now she must leave it. Annes House of Dreams,
L.M. Montgomery
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Low Rise moves from a low to mid tone

• Mid-Sentence Pauses
• Lists
• Addressing Someone by name
• Before and or
• Before Pauses to think

Also on uh huh and yes when we are encouraging
the speaker to continue!
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Phrasal Stress or Mid-Sentence Pauses

• Phrasal stress normally occurs on the stressed
  syllable of the last content word before a pause.
• Mid-sentence pauses feature a low-rise.
• Melodious speakers perfect this feature.

• I saw this guy and it looked like he had a gun.
• He went to the store to pick up some milk.
• Is it ok if I use your pen?

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The Purpose of Phrasal Stress

• This intonation change on the phrase allows the
  listener to subconsciously identify which words
  belong together in clauses or phrases.
• Every language has a mechanism for grouping
  thoughts.
• English uses a pitch change featuring a low-rise
  - the smoother, the sweeter (and vice-versa!)
• Oh,/ poor baby.// Let me/ rub your feet.//

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Lists

• Lists provide very satisfying practice
• The intonation pattern is a series of low-rises
  in a wave-like pattern followed by a fall on the
  last item.
• We need apples, oranges and bananas.
• He was rude and pushy.
• So far, Ive been to the CN Tower, Niagara Falls
  and the Zoo.

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The Jump-Fall up to high and down to low tone

• Statements
• Commands
• Information questions
• Tag Questions as Gambits
• Tag Questions as Threats

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Statements

• Normal Statements
• Im done.
• Im feeling better.
• Uncertain vs Confident vs Snotty
• The capital of Brazil is not San Paulo.
• I can type really fast.
• My brother is a Doctor.

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Sounding Unsure

• Many ESL students sound uncertain in
  interviews etc. We indicate uncertainty by not
  falling as low as usual.
• Try I know I can do this job. both ways.

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Commands vs Directions

• Commands feature a severe pitch fall from low
• Put it down now.
• Stop it.
• Directions feature a very smooth drop followed by
  a slight rise indicating a request for
  compliance.
• Turn left at the lights.
• Peel the potatoes.

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Information Questions

• Information Questions require actual information
  and fall on the stressed syllable of the last
  content word.
• On a single syllable content word, they glide
  down.
• On a multi-syllable word, they jump down.

• 1. What was your last name before marriage?
• 2. Where is he?
• 3. How much does this cost?
• 4. When are you coming?

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The Emotional State of the Speaker

• Anger low, sharp
• Joy high, light, varied
• Boredom neutral, flat - few rises and falls
• Depression total lack of variation
• Some ESL students give an air of being bored or
  disinterested.

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Putting Words on a Tone Scale

• beautiful
• ugly
• smooth
• mucousy
• slimy
• velvety
• ridiculous
• wonderful
• lazy

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Positive
Negative